Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker departs the Memorial Chapel Funeral Home after visiting the family of Eduardo Uvaldo, who was killed Monday during a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., Saturday, July 9, 2022, in Waukegan, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
OAN NEWSROOM
UPDATED 7:22 PM PT – Sunday, July 10, 2022
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called for a national ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. His remarks on Sunday, come in wake of a mass shooting in Highland Park where a gunman killed seven people and wounded dozens of others during a Fourth of July parade.
According to Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Ill.), “everything is on the table.” Morgan was marching in the Highland Park parade on Monday with his wife, 4-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son when the dozens of shots rang out just two blocks away. The Deerfield Democrat said he ran toward the scene and is grappling with the traumatic aftermath of the bloodshed.
“If anyone’s going to reject any single solution, well they’re going to hear about that from me,” Morgan said. “And so, everything has to be on the table and we have to look at this as a comprehensive problem because it really is a comprehensive problem.”
The gun epidemic is not just a Chicago or an Illinois problem. This is an American problem. The bipartisan compromise is a start but it is not enough. We must end the NRA’s stranglehold on Washington, ban assault weapons, and close the gun show loophole.
— Lori Lightfoot (@LoriLightfoot) July 9, 2022
The 21-year-old suspect’s parents reportedly entrusted him with military-style rifles at a young age and he passed four background checks for a gun license despite past police encounters.
Pritzker’s office is looking at everything from training and education about the Firearm Restraining Order or the “Red Flag” law designed to keep guns away from those deemed a danger to themselves or others. They are also putting into state statute the amount of time a “clear and present danger” file should be kept, even if it’s unfounded.
“It’s a pretty simple bill. It bans military style weapons and high-capacity magazines,” stated Rep. Maura Hirschauer (D-Ill.). “The general public in Illinois has clearly said that those types of weapons are designed for the battlefield not for hunting or any reasonable use. We are moving forward with it. I’m working it from the ground up, roll calling, gathering support and just really doing my homework on it.”
Pritzker said he doesn’t think weapons should be in the hands of the general public.